Carseats Suck
I seriously think I hate carseats at this point. I want to go to every company that makes them and say, “You suck, you suck, you suck. You too. Yes you, you suck!” I have addled my brains researching every conceivable fact, comparing, and driving to BRU three times to try out the seats. And every single one of them has something wrong with it. (Correction: something I don’t like about it. It may be a good reason, it may be a totally stupid reason, but I want to like my carseats.)
The MyRide? Awesome rear-facing seat. I spent only $130 on it, it installed super easy with no issues whatsoever using a seatbelt (we can’t use LATCH in the center in the SUV), Kate fits, she seems happy. The harness was a little tight to snug up on her, but I hear that with a lot of different car seats, especially with rear-facing installs. It’s a little lacking in the cushiony department, but Kate didn’t seem to mind. The big but? It sucks forward facing, so we’d have to get a different seat in a few years. The seat doesn’t recline or have a base, it just has two little legs that pop out to prop it up a bit more for forward facing…. and trying to fit it into a seat with the base flat and have the back actually against the seat back? Not going to happen. I tried it, just to see. It’s a known issue, most people just don’t use it forward facing… if they even have the option. I can see why.
I looked at a lot of different seats. Tried them out in the store. Compared stats and reviews. I hemmed and I hawed and I decided in the end to spend the money on a Britax. I am being supremely picky about this, so I figured let’s spend the extra money to get THE car seat… the luxury edition. Nifty little velcro tabs to hold back the harness straps, lots of padding, a smooth harness adjuster, easy to install, etc etc. This was it. It was hard making that decision, but I hit the purchase button.
It arrived today. I was so freaking excited. I took it out, oooed and ahhhed over it, got it adjusted to Kate’s shoulders. Then I took the MyRide out of the SUV and set about installing the Boulevard. It wasn’t easy like everyone said. Maybe everyone was talking about LATCH. Because the seat belt? Just as hard as with the MyRide. In fact after I huffed and puffed and got it in nice and solid it was the wrong angle. And that’s when I noticed the Boulevard has no little bubble ball level meter, it just has a line on the side. The line shows the center of the allowable recline between 30 and 45%. Uhh. That’s… not helpful. I mean, it kind of gives you a rough idea, but I don’t know if I’m over 30% or not. I do know however that it was so upright I had trouble getting her in it, so I uninstalled the bugger and got a rolled-up towel. Wrestled with it again. Success! It was acceptable to me.
Kate was happily playing in the back of the SUV all this time, by the way. Apparently it’s like the perfect playpen back there; I threw a bunch of her toys back there with her and she waddled around and tossed things and smushed her face up against the window squealing in delight. The seat back was high enough it kept her contained. I’m thinking maybe I should eat my lunches out there. But I digress.
Pleased with my install and yet feeling rather miffed at how the love was just not coming yet I snagged Kate and put her in the seat. Your new seat, Kate! How exciting! I’m just going to buckle you in-…. “WAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!” The screech of rage. Yes, okay, the crotch buckle is a little bit closer than in the MyRide and the padding thicker, making it a tighter fit. But still, it’s all kushy and happy! Happy, Kate, happy! She did not see the happy.
Once the harness was nice and snug – which, by the way, was not as easy I was lead to believe it was going to be – and she had settled down from the rage-screeching I got in and drove around the block. She fell asleep. So clearly it’s not a terrible seat. The head wings made me feel much better about her sleeping, like she was all cuddled by the seat. I thought, well maybe she is just in a mood. She’s tired.
We went back out a few hours later to go meet up with some friends. More screeching as I buckled her in. And again I was huffing and tugging on that damn strap to get it tight. She was screeching as if I was doing it up way too tight, but when I checked the shoulders there was a ton of slack – way more than I’m used to. What? I removed all the optional padding (belly, shoulders, had already removed the infant insert thing). Same thing. I sulked the whole drive. She was mostly silent, except for random bursts of babble and every once in a while a grunt and annoyed whine as she tried to get out of the harness.
At this point I really want to crawl underneath my bed and never look at car seats again. I can return the Boulevard, which is indeed my first instinct – why keep an expensive seat if it’s no better than the cheap seat? But then I look up what to get instead and I’m back to square one. They all have something I don’t like. I’ve decided to keep the MyRide in my SUV, since I DO like it, and so does she. When it’s time to turn her forward facing I’ll probably get the Graco Nautilus (forward facing only, harness to high back booster to low back booster). What I want for Den’s car is a cheap (less than $150) seat that will keep her rear facing the same amount of time as the MyRide and yet will be able to be used forward facing and not need to be replaced. The Boulevard actually does meet that criteria. Den wants to keep it. I cringe at the thought of keeping the $240 seat as the backup.
It’s times like these that I really really wish I was the kind of person who could quickly take in the general facts, make a decision, and then just be happy with it and forget the rest. Bah.
Britax is just overrated and overpriced because you pay for the brand. Cheaper seats can do the trick, too. I would not get it. We got alpha omega safety first and it does the same thing. Although, i have never installed it, my husband did, so i admire you for being able to ! Question, though, is Kate already forward facing? They recommend babies rear-face as long as possible, at least up to 2 years, thats why most people actually get britax in the first place, as it has a high rear facing weight limit. There are some videos about this: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=why+should+babies+rear+face&aq=f
No, Kate is and will be rear-facing until 3. Sorry I wasn’t clear. I’m currently using the MyRide and love it, it should last her until 3 or 4 rear-facing. It’s just that as a convertible it really sucks at actually converting, which means we will have to buy another carseat in another couple of years. (Editing my post so that it is clearer.)
I looked at the Alpha Omega but the height of the back was not as high as I would like (she wouldn’t be able to rear-face as long). Otherwise a nice looking seat, though. Very similar to the Complete Air (same manufacturer), which has a nice high back.
Ok, I see, good for you and for Kate :p
We love love love our Radian. It is pricey but totally worth it. We also have a Britax Boulevard and wish we had never gotten it (use it in our secondary car). My daughter is far more comfortable in the Radian, snugging up the harness is far easier, and it takes up much less space. Our sitter also used it in her very tiny car and loved it. It is also easy to thread the straps to the higher harness height (even though the Brotax touts the harness height adjuster as a major benefit, it is not something we miss).
I think you said that there is nowhere that sells the Radian close to you, but maybe it’s worth ordering it online from a place that does free shipping and free returns? Anyway, hope this isn’t too pushy as I know you’ve done your homework! We just are so happy with our Radian, and way more so than with the Britax.
Oh – also wanted to say that the rear-facing install was also a pain with the Radian, though we thought it was easier than the Brotax. We have an awesome police station here that basically installed them for us when we brought them in for checks (in Mass but close to Boston). Finally, now that we have a second baby, we appreciate the narrow profile of the Radian even more!
Hi again!
I have the same problem adjusting the britax, I find if i pull the straps down behind the seat it frees up some slack in the front adjuster strap. People also say it gets easier to adjust it when they are FF! Now I am tempted to take my seat out and try it FF…hmmm!
I have W’s seat RF in the middle now, with a towel, seat belt install and tethered to the front seat. Britax you can tether while RF, MyRide you cannot!
Offering my two cents I would just use the MyRide, return the Britax and for Den’s car get a Complete Air, They are affordable and people seem to love them. I hemmed and hawed and asked everyone I could think of about which seat to get, there is no perfect seat however. We should invent one, we would totally be rich! Feel free to email me if you want to, We could gripe over car seats, If i haven’t pestered you enough already :)
I did a little of the googling and found this thread on FF the MyRide, you don’t have to have the back of the seat touching the whole back of the car seat, graco only requires that the back foot be touching the seat of the car. I think there is a good picture in the link below.
http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=158139
Have a great weekend!
I love love love our True Fit, fwiw. We don’t have the premiere, just the regular old one, which I think is now a bit cheaper, now that they have the fancy ones out. Though it does have the same problem with just having the line, so it’s hard to tell if you’ve got it properly reclined.
I’ve used a bunch of RF seats, though, and a lot have that problem with the shoulder slack. I do what a PP said, and after I’ve got her settled in, grab the straps from behind the seat to grab the slack, and then pull on the front adjuster strap. That way I make sure to get it good and snug.
I hope you find one you’re happy with!
I would try http://www.albeebaby.com/. They usually have very good prices on Britax at around $199 (no tax and free shipping). We are also lovers of the Radian and Britax.
I think I’ll go to BRU to check out the True Fit, I didn’t really look at that one last time.
The Boulevard I got online price matched with albeebaby, so I only spent $230. Which sounds like a lot to me, but it’s a pretty good price on a Britax.
Still 50-50 on keeping it or returning it. Bah.
You said you wished you were the kind of person who could just take in the general facts. And yeah, I was amazed by your attention to detail. I would’ve never been able to figure out *why* a seat was more or less uncomfortable for a baby. I’m not very good at reading my son at all, or figuring out cause and effect. It sounds like that oculd be both a blessing and a curse, though.
Deborah – Oh it definitely is. I have a very good attention to detail…. but I have a very very hard time letting things go if a detail is off. I’m slight OCD (the therapist called it OCPD)… gives me anxiety when things aren’t quite “right”. And unfortunately this carseat thing is kicking in my anxiety because I can’t get it “right.” Bah. At this point I need to just let it go.
Maybe I have that too nat. Haha I find myself similar… To the point of crying or giving up completely if it’s nit right. I HATE car seats. We are satisfied with our complete air for the most part and e loves it.
If you dislike it that much, return it. It’s not worth keeping it as the backup.
Ha try picking carseats for triplets! I thought I knew carseats before this. FWIW my 3 yr old dd is in a Radian and I love it. Carseats that are RF’ing are harder to adjust than when they are FF. If the My Ride works ok and was only $130 I’d just keep it and worry about FF when that happens. How often does she ride in your husbands car? If it isn’t often I’d buy something cheap like the Cosco Scenera – they aren’t fancy but they work.
we’ve found the Britax two-way elite is great. we use it rear facing for both our kids (ages 1.5 years and 2.5 years. we live ive in uk and it was definitely one of teh cheaper seats available here. especially considering its rear-facing (most seats in uk are forward for age 12 montsh plus). not sure if you can buy it in US? although you can probably order online. its seatbelt fitting so might need fitting by someone trained initially (we did) but once its in it feels stable.
good luck. drove me nuts researching them all too!
Do they still make the Britax Roundabout? I rememeber it was one of the “cheaper” Britax convertibles, and my 3.5 year old son has been in it since he was 9 mo old. I have 2 other carseats for him, and an infant one for his sister. I find the roundabout to be FAR superior in fit, ease of installation (we have to put it in Grammy’s car frequently) and especially the tightening and loosening of the straps. It is a cinch compared to every other seat I have. I do know someone who has a Britax Marathon and I’ve put my son in that when carpooling and didn’t like it as much…so it might be worth investingating other models of Britax…but then again I don’t even know if they still make the roundabout. But I LOVE it!
They do make that one actually. :) I didn’t look at it really, maybe I should have.
Holy shnikeys. At this point, I would be making my decision based on which one had the prettiest design within my preferred price range and be done with it.
Especially since it’s such a long way off until Kate goes front-facing – maybe someone will have created the perfect carseat by then!
OMG, I feel your pain with the carseats. Such a pain! And you relive the pain each and every time you have to strap the kid into the thing. Grr. We loved our Graco SnugRide32 infant seat. It was so easy! Loved those buckles! I feel like that thing set our standards too high, and now no convertible seat out there can compare. We have the 1st Years True Fit convertible seat (x2–one for each car) and actually like them fine. They installed rearfacing without much hassle, but we did have to put a rolled towel under the front to get the tilt right. It’s plenty comfy for baby. She sleeps in there all the time without complaint–and generally seems to love riding in it. I do sometimes struggle with getting the straps pulled tight. As others suggested, I usually grab the straps from behind the seat to grab the slack, and then pull on the front adjuster strap to get it all good and tight. I wonder if that is an issue with most convertible seats in the rearfacing position… I hear that complaint a lot. For me, once I figured out the trick, it doesn’t bother me anymore. I think the only complaint I have about the seat is that I wish the buckles were as easy to unfasten as the SnugRide. Man, I miss those buckles. Good luck!